Apple today accused OpenAI of stealing trade secrets and intellectual property from Apple as part of its efforts to develop an AI hardware device.
In a complaint filed with the Northern District of California, Apple said it discovered evidence of a months-long scheme to steal confidential information. Apple says that Tang Tan, OpenAI hardware manager and former Apple designer, and Chang Liu, a former electrical engineer, asked Apple employees to speak with OpenAI to provide details about previously unreleased devices, components, manufacturing processes and supplier relationships.
In a statement to WoozadApple said it was taking legal action to protect the hard work of its employees.
At Apple, our teams are constantly developing cutting-edge technologies to create the world’s best products and services, and protecting their work and intellectual property is something we take very seriously. Recently, significant evidence has emerged suggesting that individuals employed by OpenAI mistook Apple’s secret and confidential information regarding our unreleased technologies, processes, and products. We will always defend the work and innovations of our teams and we take all appropriate measures to achieve this.
Tan is accused of using his internal knowledge of Apple’s exit procedures to help employees secretly provide information and of giving OpenAI key information about Apple suppliers that benefited OpenAI’s work on an AI device. From the trial:
OpenAI also teaches new hires how to avoid scrutiny when they leave Apple. For example, Mr. Tan warns them not to tell Apple that they took a job at OpenAI, so that they can stay at Apple as long as they can. After his own departure, Mr. Tan retained or improperly obtained an internal document from Apple executives marked “Need to Know” that outlined security procedures for employee departures. Messages left on work devices issued by Apple show that Mr. Tan and his colleagues at OpenAI shared this document with new recruits before informing Apple of their departure, providing insight into Apple’s security protocols. Unsurprisingly, Apple’s investigation found that employees who leave for OpenAI take steps to evade security processes intended to protect Apple’s confidential information.
Apple says it discovered a pattern of OpenAI recruits emailing each other confidential information when they left Apple, including Tan. Others “inappropriately used their knowledge of Apple’s confidential information and trade secrets to help OpenAI develop hardware.” OpenAI apparently used confidential Apple hardware information when it contacted Apple suppliers and deceived a company into using a “trade secret specific metal finishing technique” for an OpenAI device by claiming it had authorization from Apple to do so.
Apple claims that evidence on an employee’s work-provided device indicates that Tan asked her to “bring some parts” she worked on to an interview, suggesting she show OpenAI batteries, SIPs, logic boards and other hardware. This was not an isolated incident and Apple says several people interviewed by OpenAI were asked to do the same.
Liu allegedly kept an Apple laptop after leaving the company and exploited a vulnerability to download dozens of confidential Apple documents while working at OpenAI. He also maintained a relationship with Yu-Ting “Alyssa” Peng, an Apple employee who continued to give him updates on Apple’s plans, vendor decisions, and technical details. When Liu learned he still had access to Apple’s systems, he texted Peng “Lol, I found out I can access the (network storage), it’s so funny.”
Apple accuses OpenAI executives of creating a culture of hardware theft and says OpenAI’s hardware business is “rotten to the core” because of its reliance on information stolen from Apple.
This is the tip of the iceberg. Apple lacks visibility into what is happening behind closed doors at OpenAI, where such misconduct is normalized and exemplified by executives. However, this much is clear: At every level, from its technical team members to its chief hardware officer, and in coordination with business partners, OpenAI stole Apple’s trade secrets and confidential information. It naturally follows that OpenAI’s burgeoning hardware business now rests on the flimsiest of foundations, rotten to the core by its illegal reliance on misappropriated trade secrets.
Apple attempted to contact OpenAI in February when it first learned of the potential theft, but OpenAI did not respond, leading Apple to investigate further. Apple says OpenAI is under pressure to release a hardware device, which has led the company to take shortcuts instead of investing in legitimate development. “OpenAI turned to misappropriation of trade secrets to profit from Apple’s decades of innovation,” the lawsuit reads.
Former Apple design chief and OpenAI designer Jony Ive is not named in the suit, but it targets io products, acquired by OpenAI. Although OpenAI CEO Altman is mentioned, he is not named as a defendant and Apple is not suggesting that Ive or Altman are involved. Apple also does not appear to be targeting OpenAI’s ongoing recruitment of Apple staff, although the lawsuit mentions that more than 400 former Apple employees now work at OpenAI.
Apple mentions its ongoing partnership with OpenAI for Siri ChatGPT integration, but only to say that the deal is not an issue in the lawsuit.
Previous rumors suggest that the relationship between Apple and OpenAI has deteriorated, with OpenAI allegedly considering taking legal action against Apple because the integration failed to meet OpenAI’s expectations and Apple’s promises.
In its trade secret theft lawsuit, Apple is seeking an injunction to prevent OpenAI from owning, using or disclosing its technologies as well as damages “in an amount to be determined at trial.” He is also suing Tan and Liu for breach of contract due to violating their agreements with Apple.
